Devil's Work
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and ninety-seven: Mike doesn't like what Brittany has to do as one of Sue's minions, and he decides they have to talk about it.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eigth cycle, and ninth cycle._

_Now comes the tenth cycle. And since that feels like it should be special, this is what I'm doing: Cycle 10 will feature my top 15 of some favorite things from Glee. Characters, ships, friends... It will be daily ficlets for numbers 15 down to 2, but number 1 will be a 7-chapter story :) Here we go!_  
_**Coming in at number eight!**_

* * *

**"Devil's Work"  
Mike/Brittany**

He knew what they did, everyone in the club knew. He'd never said a thing about it, because he figured it wasn't his place. But as time had passed, and the two of them had grown closer to one another, he'd come to find it harder and harder to just stand by and say nothing.

She had to realize what it was Coach Sylvester was having her do, and what it meant for the rest of them, right? Or was it going over her head? That idea almost made it worse for him, like she was being used.

He had to talk to her, but he didn't want her to get upset. At the same time, she had to know he was serious, about the situation, and about how he felt about her. She was his friend… some days she felt like so much more…

Some afternoons they would hang back in the room, after practice, and just… have fun, dance it out. That was something he'd come to look forward to, from day to day, and he could feel she did as well.

That day they had gotten it in them to just completely and with total abandon let go. It was a rapid chain of motion, to the point that they could be dizzying to observers… By the time they were forced to pause, they weren't steady on their feet either, but it just made them laugh. Mike would try and grasp her hand as they would seek a seated position until they could see straight again.

"I can't look at the ceiling," she blinked her eyes. "It's everywhere." He smirked, at the same time trying to regain his balance. They were both out of breath, but he hadn't forgotten what it was he wanted to talk to her about. After a moment, feeling he was just about normal again, he looked at her. She still didn't look that much 'all there,' but at some point you had to realize that was just her regular self.

"Brittany…" he started, and she looked at him. "Why do you do it?" She gave him that kind of look he'd come to know as her having no clue what she was being asked. He nodded and restated, "Why are you helping Coach Sylvester?" She still looked a little lost, but still she answered.

"Why not?" Mike shook his head.

"She's trying to take down Glee Club." She didn't reply. "Don't you like Glee Club?" he asked her.

"Sure," she nodded with a smile. "The club's okay," she pointed out with a shrug.

"What about if, one day, it isn't?" he pointed back. She stopped and thought about this. "She's using you…" he looked at her. She looked back. "You know what I mean?"

"I like being a Cheerio," was her first response. He frowned, trying to settle on what she meant. She shrugged. "And the club's okay," she repeated. Looking at her, he could start to see what it was she was trying to say.

It was true, Coach Sylvester had been on a hell-bent kind of grudge match mission to take down Glee Club. She'd used some pretty low methods at time, and a lot of them had been stung by it. But they always bounced back. They were stronger than her and stronger for it. It was like they were indestructible. So it didn't matter what the Coach had them do. It might offset their balance for a second, but eventually they found their footing again. By that reasoning, she could have Glee Club AND the Cheerios.

"What if she takes it too far?" he pointed out. She thought about this.

"Like what?" He didn't have an answer ready, and she looked at him. "You're worried?" she asked with an amused smirk, tapping his arm. He gave her a quiet smile.

"About y… Glee Club… I guess…" he admitted. She shook her head, getting back on her feet with a wobble left over from the dizzy dance.

"Come on," she held out her hands to help him up.

He looked up at her and finally put his hands in hers, let her pull him up. She laughed as they struggled not to fall in the process. When they were finally both standing again, there was a brief moment where neither of them knew what to say or do. Eventually though, Brittany gave a grin.

"Ready for round two?" she dared and he laughed.

"You think that's wise?" She nodded and shrugged at once. "Of course you do. Well then…" he went to start up the music again, finding her already winding up into the dance, and he joined her. It was one of the things he loved, being around her. Worries were few and far in between. She just lived, she just loved… he could appreciate that.

THE END


End file.
